Philadelphia Soul: The Soul ended last season in disappointment as they were upset by Jacksonville in the American Conference Championship after finishing the regular season with the best record in the AFL. The Soul used that loss as motivation as they again claimed the first seed in the American Conference with a 15-3 record. The Soul scored the second most points in the league this year. QB Dan Raudabaugh won the 2015 AFL MVP award and followed that up with another spectacular season, finishing second in the league in passing yards (4,303) and touchdowns (101). The offense overall finished the season with 61.4 points per game. The defense finished second in sacks with 22 and led the league in interceptions with 25. Tracy Belton led the AFL in INTs with 9 and Jake Metz led the league in sacks with 8. Philadelphia ended the year with a four game winning streak and went 7-1 at home.

Arizona Rattlers: The Rattlers finished last season in similar fashion as the Soul as they lost in the National Conference Championship game, 70-67. Arizona had the lead with 20 seconds to go but San Jose was able to pull off the late rally to deny the Rattlers. Arizona started the season hot out of the gates with a 5-0 record but then dropped two straight and three out of four overall. They would finish the season on a seven game winning streak and averaged 20 more points than their opponents in that span. The Rattlers finished this season with an undefeated home record (8-0) and dominated both playoff games. Arizona has scored the most points in the league, averaging 66.8 per game and scored 80 points twice in the regular season. QB Nick Davila led the league in TDs with 110 and completions with a 69.6% success rate. Davila was protected by C Jordan Mudge who was named the AFL Offensive linemen of the year. The defense led the league in sacks with 29 and recovered 16 fumbles to go along with 19 INTs as they led the AFL in turnovers with 35.

Interesting Notes: This is the third time Arizona and Philadelphia have met in the Arena Bowl. Arizona won Arena Bowl XXV 72-54 and Arena Bowl XXVI 48-39. Both those games were hosted at neutral locations. This is the first time Arizona will host the championship game...The Soul's win over the Rattlers in Week 7 was the first time Philadelphia has defeated Arizona in eight attempts.